US shares fell sharply again on Monday amid uncertainty in the American economy, with President Donald Trump refusing to rule out a recession.

Tesla shares plunged by at least 15% to $222 – meaning it has lost more than half its value since its peak at $479.86 on 17 December.

The Nasdaq Composite closed down more than 4% on Monday, while the S&P 500 slumped about 2.7% – its biggest daily percentage drop since 18 December.

Sirlines and other companies that need US shoppers feeling confident enough to spend also saw sharp losses. Bitcoin fell below $79,000 from more than $100,000 in December.

It comes amid US trade fights with Canada and Mexico through on-off tariffs of up to 25%.

China has also been targeted and the European Union could be next, from 2 April, when Mr Trump has promised to ramp up his “America first” ambitions.

Asked directly in a Fox News interview on Sunday whether he was expecting a recession, Mr Trump did not deny the possibility.

He said: “I hate to predict things like that. There is a period of transition because what we’re doing is very big, we’re bringing wealth back to America. That’s a big thing. And there are always periods of – it takes a little time. It takes a little time.”

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In the 50 days since Donald Trump entered the White House, there have been announcements and headlines almost every day.

Here’s an A-Z of the last 50 days under Trump 2.0.

A is for Associated Press, banned from White House events for still using “Gulf of Mexico” rather than Trump’s Gulf of America rebrand. It’s one of a number of changes in media access to government that favours Trump-friendly outlets.

B is for bromance. French President Emmanuel Macron re-affirmed the thigh-patting friendship with Trump when both men leaned in for the tickle in an Oval Office encounter that laid bare the pair’s mutual affection. Macron addressed him as “Dear Donald” in a meeting that had Ukraine as its focus.

C is for the US Constitution, which many see as challenged by Trump 2.0. It divides power equally between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. Trump appears to be expanding the executive power of the president in a way that undermines the ‘checks and balances’ structure of government to suit his political will. This is being contested in a number of legal challenges.

D is for DOGE. The Department of Government Efficiency is charged with rooting out “waste, fraud and abuse” in the federal government and has, controversially, enforced closures and slashed thousands of jobs. It has provoked legal challenges.

E is for Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and ‘First Buddy’ in the White House, who is in charge of DOGE. Questions persist around the extent of his unchecked authority and conflict of interest as well as access, through DOGE, to government and personal information.

F is for Fogel. Marc Fogel is a US schoolteacher imprisoned in Russia, released after the Trump administration lobbied the Kremlin, declaring it a “show of good faith from the Russians” and encouraging re ending the Ukraine war.

G is for Greenland, the mineral-rich Arctic territory belonging to Denmark which Donald Trump wants to acquire. Of the self-governing island, he told a recent joint address to Congress: One way or the other, we’re going to get it.” Denmark and the Greenlandic government say it’s not for sale.

H is for how on earth did that happen? The question could apply to a number of things – let’s settle here for the AI video of a re-imagined Gaza as a luxury resort, variously populated by bearded belly dancers, a gold statue of Trump, and the president himself sat sipping cocktails with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.

Notably, it was shared on social media by President Trump, who has spoken of his wish to “own” the Gaza Strip.

I is for Indian PM Narendra Modi, who met Trump in DC but not before sitting down with Elon Musk and his children. Musk wants access to India for his Starlink internet service and Tesla vehicles. Critics say the meeting raises questions about him using his Trump-adjacent position to benefit his global business.

J is for Justice, as in Department of. Long-serving officials at the DoJ have been removed, creating vacancies in traditionally non-partisan roles that opponents say Trump will fill with people who share his ideology. The president has claimed the DoJ has previously weaponised the law against him. Critics say he will do the same, against his opponents.

K is for Kash Patel, newly appointed director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Controversially, he once amplified Donald Trump’s threats to see retribution against political opponents, saying: “We will go out and find the conspirators not just in government, but in the media.”

L is for a list of other controversial appointments, including:

RFK Jr, head of health and human services, who has promoted conspiracy theories, spread anti-vaccine rhetoric and made other unfounded medical claims.

Pete Hegseth, defence secretary, who faced allegations of alcohol abuse, sexual misconduct, and concerns about his qualifications.

Tulsi Gabbard, director of National Intelligence, who held a 2017 meeting with Syrian dictator Bashar al Assad. Following the invasion of Ukraine, she shared claims that were widely debunked and identified as Russian propaganda.

M is for Moscow. Donald Trump has been on the phone to the Russian capital several times as he resets US relations with Vladimir Putin. He wants Russia back in the G8 and the US is contemplating lifting sanctions as it seeks to improve economic and diplomatic relations.

N is for nervousness created by the on-off tariff saga. President Trump has partially paused 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico after falls in the stock markets. Tariffs on China and other countries (TBC) remain on the agenda, in spite of trade war fears and economists’ concerns about business uncertainty, low consumer confidence and the effect on prices.

O is for order, as in changing world order. Trump’s strategy challenges the geopolitics that have cemented the United States and its allies and secured peace since the Second World War. His warmth towards traditional adversaries like Russia and China suggests he’s prepared to change the political paradigm and realign a more insular America according to self-interest.

P is for Panama Canal. President Trump says he would consider using military force to seize it from Panama, one of Washington’s closest allies in Latin America. He claims, without evidence, that it’s controlled by China.

Q is for quarterback Patrick Mahomes, of the Kansas City Chiefs. Trump watched him at American football’s ‘Superbowl’ in February, the first sitting president ever to attend. He praised Mahomes’ wife for her vocal support of him but there were no words for the partner of team-mate Travis Kelce. She is, of course, the singer Taylor Swift – no fan of Donald Trump.

R is for Rubio. Marco Rubio, secretary of state, was among cabinet secretaries who rowed with Elon Musk in a meeting over his department cuts. Trump intervened to say he still supported the DOGE mission but department secretaries would be in charge from now on. It’s the first real sign of Trump placing limits on Musk.

S is for special relationship. “We like each other, frankly, and we like each other’s country,” said Trump of UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. At a White House meeting, the PM delivered an invitation for a state visit from King Charles. The pair talked Ukraine but Starmer will have liked hearing Trump say there was “a very good chance” of a trade deal “where tariffs wouldn’t be necessary”.

T is for Trudeau, as in Justin Trudeau. The departing Canadian prime minister has been a target of Trump as has Canada itself, which Donald Trump wants to make the 51st state of the US. He has insisted on referring to its PM as “Governor” and placed Canada, along with Mexico, at the front of the queue for US tariffs.

U is for USAID. The work of the Agency for International Development has been dismantled. More than 10,000 people have lost their jobs at the agency which spends billions on programmes worldwide, including to ease poverty, treat disease and promote democracy. It is widely viewed as a valuable ‘soft power’ tool for the US but Elon Musk has called it a “criminal organisation” and Donald Trump said it was “run by a bunch of radical lunatics”.

V is for Vance, as in JD Vance. The vice president is viewed as the right-hand man who can articulate Trump policy in a way that Trump himself can’t. His speech to the Munich security conference reflected a reshaping of transatlantic relations, stunning the room by accusing allies of ignoring their own voter concerns about free speech and migration.

Separately, he caused offence in the UK when he said a US mineral deal in Ukraine was a better security guarantee than troops from “some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years”. He later insisted he hadn’t specified a particular country, adding that British – and French – troops had fought bravely alongside the US.

W is for ‘wokeism’. Ending it is at the heart of the Trump agenda. He has limited diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) recruitment policies across the federal government and military. It included the firing of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Charles Q Brown. Previously, defence secretary Pete Hegseth had questioned whether he had been made chairman because he was black.

X is for X, full name X Æ A-Xii. He’s the four-year-old son of Elon Musk who, during an Oval Office news conference, wiped a bogie – or ‘booger’ – on the Resolute desk. Donald Trump, a self-described germaphobe, sent the desk to be cleaned afterwards.

Y is for Yosemite, the national park where DOGE cuts hit in an unexpected way. Some rangers and staff were let go as part of a 1,000-strong reduction in the National Park Service by Elon Musk’s agency, raising questions about what kind of efficiencies Musk is seeking.

Z is for Zelenskyy. An Oval Office news conference with the Ukrainian president ended in extraordinary, unforgettable scenes of shouting and finger-pointing when Trump and his vice president rounded on their guest. Zelenskyy was criticised for not wearing a suit and not expressing thanks during the meeting. Zelenskyy is dealing with a president who called him a dictator and claimed Ukraine started the war. It’s awkward.

In just 50 days, Donald Trump has upended our world. He has ripped up rules, attacked allies and sided with enemies.

A country we thought for decades had our backs is no longer a reliable partner.

We travelled thousands of miles to ask what that means for our lives and millions of others – from the sweltering backstreets of Africa to the frozen wastes of Greenland and Finland’s tense border with Russia.

Donald Trump‘s supporters at home and abroad see him as the disruptor-in-chief who will bring peace and prosperity, putting America first.

But to many others we found he threatens chaos and a far darker future.

While Mr Trump may be challenging convention and bringing fresh thinking, his critics say he is moving too fast and erratically. His first 50 days in office, they claim, have weakened America’s place in the world and that will be exploited by rivals.

Risk of resurgent epidemics in Kenya

We went first to Kenya. The focus in the West may have been on Mr Trump and Russia but in the developing world, it’s the end of US aid that is grabbing the headlines.

On the frontlines of Africa’s war on HIV we heard Mr Trump’s actions being compared to an act of “biological warfare”.

Even among allies and admirers of the American president, there is deep unease and fear about what could come next, most of all the risk of resurgent epidemics of diseases like HIV, TB, malaria, ebola, and polio.

In one of Kenya’s poorest neighbourhoods in Nairobi, we joined health workers on their rounds, down sewage-filled alleyways into cramped, overcrowded buildings.

In a one-room home, we met a young mother who is dependent on American aid. Anne is HIV positive and needs daily medication and nutritional support for both herself and her one-year-old son. She is terrified for their future because of the cut in US aid.

“I’m so worried,” she told us, “because if it carries on like this the medication could run out. When the medicine is not there, the protector of my body is not there, so anything can just pass through me.”

‘We had no warning’

Kenya received $850m (£658m) in aid a year and that has now been abruptly severed. A US Supreme Court decision against the Trump administration may restore some of that but there is complete uncertainty about what happens next.

Martha, a healthcare manager in Nairobi, spelled out what is at stake: “We had no warning. We could not prepare the households. It was so sudden.

“We expect more death. We expect more children to die before the age of five. We expect more death for children living with HIV and it is going to be bad,” Martha said, adding that more than 20,000 children who use her organisation’s services will be affected.

90% of all US aid contracts cut

The Trump administration says the aid has been only been suspended for 90 days pending a review. But in reality, many key programmes appear to have been shut down completely.

After a 45-minute flight west of Nairobi to Kisumu, we saw what is happening away from big cities. The impact seemed just as severe.

At one provincial hospital US Agency for International Development (USAID) signs were everywhere but on doors that are now shut. It had been a hub for patients to receive their treatment but that’s now in doubt.

Staff told us there were just two months of supplies left for some medication, and less than a month for others, because there have been no more deliveries.

Patients were stockpiling drugs, said doctors, panicking for the future.

‘Biological warfare’

The US-supplied ammunition for Africa’s war against HIV, malaria, TB and other diseases is running out. It has taken decades and billions to bring them under control. The fear is of a return to epidemics not seen for years.

Eric Okioma is HIV positive and runs a charity helping others with the disease in Kisumu.

“When you look at it from a public health aspect, that’s biological warfare that’s the way I’m seeing it because from a human rights perspective, he did the wrong thing – he should not have taken it abruptly.”

Mr Trump is popular among many in Kenya. His conservative stance on issues like gender and sexuality resonates in this predominantly Christian country.

But even among admirers and supporters there is deep unease about his aid cut.

Peter Gunday, a father and churchgoer, told us he agreed Kenya should be less dependent on US aid and encouraged to provide for itself – but Mr Trump’s action had been too sudden.

“He wants to make America great again… [but give an] olive branch to us even if it is only for some time.”

The aid cut threatens lives and America’s standing in the world. The US has used aid to wield soft power and influence.

Read more:
US aid crisis leaves South Africans living with HIV in turmoil
What is USAID?

America in retreat

Its superpower rival China prefers building. They have lent billions for massive infrastructure projects like the new railway from Nairobi to the coast through the heart of the city’s safari park.

For Beijing it’s all leverage, applied ruthlessly to increase access to Africa’s abundant natural resources.

Under Trump, America is unilaterally deserting that battle for power and influence. Its values and interests will inevitably suffer. Not so much America first but America in retreat.

Finland prepares for Russian aggression

Closer to home, it is America’s shift on security causing the greatest concern. We flew thousands of miles north to one of NATO‘s newest member countries that sits on a border with Russia.

What did people in Finland make of what Mr Trump is doing to the Western alliance they have only just joined?

We filmed with Finland‘s military on the border with Russia that was closed because of the war in Ukraine.

In sparsely populated woods, locals report sightings of Russian drones, we were told. And there has been a surge in recruits to the border guard because of the international situation.

One of them, Aku Jaeske, told us he had joined up “for the defence of our own country”.

He said: “I think most of us, I think, are here because of that. It’s really hard if we have a 1,300 and something kilometre border with Russia – it’s pretty long – we have to have good men there.”

‘Bring it on’, says one Finn

What did he make of Mr Trump and what he saw on the news?

“I think it’s crazy when you turn your TV on today, you can’t know what is really happening.”

The war with Ukraine and Russia’s belligerence has sparked a boom in shooting, with hundreds of new ranges opening up in Finland to meet demand.

In a range outside Helsinki, one shooting enthusiast Jerkri told us what he thought was behind its growing popularity.

“The situation in Ukraine and people are noticing that maybe [they are] having to take care of themselves… think about it.”

Amateur shooters go through their paces, crisscrossing an open range at speed firing at targets dotted around the room. Patrick said he was worried by the direction of events.

“But if it did come to it… bring it on,” he said.

In a service station, Finland’s most popular tabloid had the headline, “Trump’s 10 gifts to Putin.”

Finns were once a byword for peace-loving neutrality. They are arming up now, and watching Mr Trump’s overtures to the Kremlin warily.

Finland after all is where Mr Trump stood next to Russian President Vladimir Putin during his first term in office and infamously said he would believe him over the word of US spy agencies.

US may be deserting the West

The Finns know from their history a belligerent Russia cannot be trusted.

In Europe, the US is not just withdrawing under Donald Trump, who says the US cannot prioritise the continent’s security any longer. It looks like it may be changing sides deserting the West entirely: Cutting off aid and intelligence to Ukraine while it is pummelled by Russian rockets and drones; branding Ukraine’s leader – and not the tyrant of Moscow – a dictator; attacking close allies with tariffs; resetting relations with Russia while it continues to invade a part of Europe.

‘Trump is ridiculous’, Greenlanders say

And threatening to take over its neighbours. Our journey ended in Greenland, top of the list of Mr Trump’s planned acquisitions.

Most people we spoke to were genuinely worried by him.

Students Aviana and Julie told us Mr Trump’s antics were alarming.

“That’s very scary actually – it seems he’s more with Russia than Ukraine. I’m really scared.”

Another passerby said Mr Trump had no right to make a play for their homeland. They said: “I think it’s ridiculous that he thinks he can just take our land. We don’t have the resources to fight against the USA.”

Jurgen Boassen has become a well-known figure for having opposing views – he is outspokenly pro-Trump.

“I think he is a great man who wants to have peace in the world,” he told us.

‘Europe is failing’

He admits he is paid by MAGA groups in America to promote “cultural ties” and believes Greenland will gradually come around to the idea of becoming closer to America.

“I don’t care because they will realise I’m doing the good thing for Greenland. Europe is failing, Britain, Sweden, Belgium, Holland even Germany,” he said.

Wherever we travelled people seemed in shock. America used to believe helping others was good for America – keeping the peace in Europe, saving lives, or protecting the sovereignty of neighbours.

Read more:
Why does Trump want Greenland?
85% of Greenlanders oppose joining US, poll finds

The fear is under President Trump it is just out for itself. The idea Mr Trump could carve up the world into spheres of influence with other authoritarian leaders seems plausible. If that is the case, lesser nations like Greenland may have plenty to fear.

From what we were told on our journey, Donald Trump’s America First foreign policy risks the lives of millions, the security and sovereignty of allies, and America’s own place in the world while potentially strengthening its enemies.